Inter Milan will be looking to bounce back from their midweek Champions League disappointment when they return to Serie A action away to Fiorentina on Sunday night.
Antonio Conte's side are currently top of Serie A with 38 points, while Fiorentina sit down in 13th spot having only collected 16 points from their 15 league matches during the 2019-20 campaign.
Match preview
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The 2018-19 campaign will go down as a very disappointing season for Fiorentina after they finished in 16th position. Not since 2011-12 had they posted a bottom-half finish in Serie A, while the club actually finished fourth in three straight seasons between 2012 and 2015.
There has been little to suggest that La Viola are capable of pushing for a European spot this term, though, as a total of 16 points has left them in 13th spot in the table. They have only won four of their 15 league outings this term and sit just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Fiorentina will undoubtedly be the fresher of the two teams heading into this weekend's contest as Inter were in Champions League action during the week.
Vincenzo Montella's side have lost each of their last four in Serie A, though, since picking up a point against Parma at the start of November. They have only actually won once in the league since the start of October, meanwhile, which is concerning form heading into the clash with Conte's team.
What's more, Fiorentina have not won any of the last four Serie A matches between the two teams, although the corresponding match during the 2018-19 campaign ended in a 3-3 draw.
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Inter have been excellent in Serie A this season, winning 12 and losing just one of their 15 matches to sit top of the pile, two points clear of the champions Juventus on the same number of matches.
The Milan giants have won six and drawn two of their last eight league matches but were held to a goalless draw by Roma last weekend. Juve could not take advantage of the dropped points, though, as Maurizio Sarri's side suffered a 3-1 loss at Lazio to remain in second spot in the division.
Domestically, Inter have hardly put a foot wrong in recent weeks, but the club saw their Champions League journey for the 2019-20 campaign come to an end on Tuesday night.
Indeed, a 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona meant that they dropped into the Europa League rather than progressing to the Champions League round of 16, with Borussia Dortmund joining Barca in the knockout stage.
Inter cannot afford to dwell on the disappointment, though, and they could enter this match in second spot in the table with Juve in action against Udinese earlier in the afternoon.
Fiorentina Serie A form: WDLLLL
Fiorentina form (all competitions): DLLLWL
Inter Milan Serie A form: WWWWWD
Inter Milan form (all competitions): WWWWDL
Team News
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Fiorentina will again be unable to call upon the services of either Kevin-Prince Boateng or Franck Ribery for Sunday's contest, while German Pezzella is out with a broken jaw.
Pol Lirola is pushing for a spot in the XI having been an unnamed substitute against Torino last time out, although 19-year-old forward Dusan Vlahovic is expected to continue in attack alongside Federico Chiesa.
As for Inter, Alexis Sanchez, Nicolo Barella and Stefano Sensi remain on the sidelines, while neither Kwadwo Asamoah nor Roberto Gagliardini are expected to be involved this weekend.
It would be fair to say that Conte's squad is stretched at the moment, particularly in the middle of the park, where Borja Valero is likely to earn another start alongside Matias Vecino and Marcelo Brozovic.
Antonio Candreva should come back into the XI having remained on the bench against Barca, but there will be no change in attack with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez set to continue their partnership.
Fiorentina possible starting lineup:
Dragowski; Caceres, Ceccherini, Milenkovic; Dalbert, Castrovilli, Badelj, Pulgar, Lirola; Chiesa, Vlahovic
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Godin; Biraghi, Valero, Brozovic, Vecino, Candreva; Martinez, Lukaku
We say: Fiorentina 1-2 Inter Milan
Inter will expect Juve to overcome Udinese on Sunday afternoon and therefore a win might be needed against Fiorentina to return to the summit. The home side are certainly capable of picking up a result, but we just fancy Conte's side to triumph due to their firepower in the final third of the field.
Matt Law
